Current News from the Kansas Authors Club

Members published in Amaranth: A Journal of Food Writing, Art & Design

4/25/2026

Member News from Duane L. Herrmann (Topeka)

The summer/sommer 2026 issue of Amaranth Journal, a somewhat bi-lingual (Deutsch/Englische) publication, has just been released. It contains my story, explanation, and recipe for stir fry meatloaf. This answers the parents age-old question of what to do with the oatmeal your children didn't finish for breakfast. See pp. 54-57. The link is :
https://amaranthjournal.com/issues/

Member Jeanice Eagan Davis (Wichita) has a poem in the issue.

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Member Kevin Peterson at Red Fern Booksellers in Salina

4/24/2026

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Salina's Red Fern Booksellers will be hosting two local artists for their Poet Night on Thursday evening, April 30 at 6 pm. This is a conclusion to the city’s Arts and Humanities April Poetry Series held at the Red Fern.

Kansas Authors Club member Kevin R Peterson will be one of the presenters, sharing excerpts from his recent chapbook “A Poetic Wandering”.

Event on Facebook

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Member News from Marie Asner

4/8/2026

Marie Asner and husband Harold Asner, known as "The Poetry Couple", participate in Open Mic the last Friday of the month, at the Bare Necessities Coffee House, Overland Park, Kansas, under the auspices of the Johnson County Resource Library. On Monday, March 2, 2026, the Asner's did a poetry reading at Asbury Hall, Prairie Village, Kansas as part of a fund-raiser for music scholarships.

Marie Asner's poetry will be highlighted at the 2026 Convention of the Missouri Federation of Music Clubs on May 1-2, in St. Louis, Missouri. The theme of the Convention is "Music Can Change The World."

If you have news of writing events that would be of interest to all Kansas Authors Club members, or if you are a member (dues current) who would like to announce an achievement, please submit your news via this form.

Member News from Annette Billings

4/8/2026

Annette's poem, "Bullets in Lieu of Brothers," has been nominated for a PushCart Prize.

I continue to do poetry/story-telling at non-profits throughout Kansas, most recently at Lawrence Public Library, as a selected presenter of Humanities Kansas Folklife Series which is part of the U.S. 250th anniversary celebration. This program runs through August.

Kansas Folklife Series - Humanities Kansas

Visit Annette's Website

Member Julie Stielstra published in Split Rock Review

4/8/2026

Julie is pleased to report that her essay “Of Mice and Owls and Snakes and Humans” has been published by Split Rock Review - you can read - or hear! - it here.

Split Rock Review explores the complicated relations of people with the natural world, and she is honored by their acceptance of her take on the network of life she is part of in central Kansas.

Read it or hear it!

Tiny Seed Literary Journal

2/28/2026

A note from member Duane L. Herrmann:

The site is searchable. I have about a dozen poems there. Two of the photos, the sunset and the awesome grass fire, are mine.

Dear Tracks, Duane L. Herrmann

Member Robert W. Phillips Shares His Author Newsletter

2/28/2026

Robert W. Phillips joined Kansas Authors Club in 2024 and has been studying the book business. Robert has attended our convention and our monthly programs, he asks questions and studies what other authors are doing, and he has published a sweet memoir of growing up on a mid-century farm in Kansas. His author newsletters are also well presented. I appreciate his story-telling approach and I especially like that he acknowledges the value of community in each newsletter. Note at the bottom where he encourages people to shop at local bookstores and links his affiliations, including Kansas Authors Club.

Well done, Robert!

You can subscribe to Robert's newsletter by clicking through to his website.

I have been very fortunate to attend the Hines VA Blind Rehabilitation Center here in Chicago. I arrived on January 12 and anticipate returning to Kansas on February 7, 2026. The classes have been very intensive and should provide me with opportunities I have not had since losing my vision several years ago. This training is available to any veteran who is legally blind for any reason, even if it is not related to military service. If you are aware of any veteran in this situation, please contact me, and I would be more than happy to assist them in receiving these services.

They provided us with numerous devices to assist with reading. We were given Meta Glasses during this visit. With these glasses, you can look at something and ask, “Meta, what am I looking at?” and the glasses will give you a full description.

I returned from Hines, and within a couple of days, my wife Beverly’s mother had a stroke, so here we are in Tyler, Texas. I was able to bring my computer, but I have had very little time to work on my next book.

The Birth and Demise of a Small Flint Hills Town
Virgil, Kansas, is a very unique community that I was fortunate to be born into in 1944. I spent my formative years there, growing up and developing my love of rural life. The community began to be settled by pioneers just a few years before the outbreak of the Civil War in April 1861. Hundreds, even thousands, of small communities like Virgil were being formed not only in Kansas but across the entire country at that same time.

Join me in researching old newspapers, visiting cemeteries, exploring museums, looking over old land records, talking with individuals from the area, and reviewing numerous school yearbooks. Of course, we can't forget attending the Virgil gathering held every quarter in Olpe, Kansas at the Chicken House.

I hope all my newsletter friends are doing well and staying healthy. Bless you all.

-Robert, The Storyteller

Buy Big Boys Don't Cry

Visit Robert's Website

Member Kim Andrews Published in Ceramics Monthly

1/13/2026

Kim Andrews wrote an article that was recently published in the December 2025 issue of Ceramics Monthly magazine. This was a feature about St. John artist Carol Long, who is known for her handmade tile and decorative pottery.

A longtime magazine editor and writer, Andrews entered the ministry about 15 years ago but was drawn to write about Long's pottery when she visited her studio one Christmas during an open house. She says her work was unlike anything she'd ever seen.

Read the Article

Kim's Website

Member to Be Guest Editor for #PoemADay in 2026

1/5/2026

American Academy of Poets Announcement:

We’re thrilled to announce the twelve new guest editors for #PoemADay in 2026, who will each curate a month of poems: Geffrey Davis, Chris Abani, Danusha Laméris, Dorianne Laux, Hala Alyan, Sam Sax, Oliver Baez Bendorf, Charif Shanahan, Maya C. Popa, Lorna Dee Cervantes, Denise Low, and Edward Hirsch. Click the link to learn more: https://poets.org/announcing-2026-guest-editors-poem-day....

November: Denise Low

Denise Low is the author of more than forty books of poetry, essays, and criticism. Her most recent full-length poetry collections include House of Grace, House of Blood (University of Arizona Press, 2024), winner of the Nelson Poetry Book Award, and Wing (Red Mountain Press, 2021), a finalist for the Hefner Heitz Kansas Book Award. Low’s works of prose include the memoir The Turtle’s Beating Heart: One Family’s Story of Lenape Survival (University of Nebraska Press, 2017) and Natural Theologies: Literature of the New Middle West (Backwaters Press, 2011), the first critical study of contemporary poets from the Mid-Plains. She also edited Kansas Poems of William Stafford (Woodley Press, 2010). Low is a founding member of the Indigenous Nations Poets (In-Na-Po) and has served on its national board since 2020. She is also a literary programmer for the arts nonprofit The 222. She served as poet laureate of Kansas from 2007 to 2009. From 2008 to 2013, Low was a board member of the Associated Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) and was its president from 2011 to 2012. She has taught at the University of Kansas, the University of Richmond, and for twenty-seven years at Haskell Indian Nations University where she founded the creative writing program. She currently teaches at Baker University’s School of Professional and Graduate Studies in Baldwin City, Kansas.

Cheryl Seely Savage Poem in Kansas! Magazine 80th Anniversary Year Issue

12/31/2025

Kansas poet Cheryl Seely Savage was recently published in Kansas! magazine for their final issue celebrating their 80th anniversary year. In her words:

“I’m absolutely honored to be in the final 80th anniversary celebratory issue of Kansas! (magazine). When I was asked to write a poem entitled “The Spirit of Kansas,” I knew I had to include as many historical aspects of Kansas as I could. I wanted to pay homage to all the creatures and people who have lived in and loved this land. I needed to recognize indigenous displacement as well as immigrant farming. I felt compelled to mention the ancient sea that covered most of the plains, as well as the ingenuity of wind farming. Kansas truly does ‘honor the grit’ and I feel so privileged to live in this beautiful, historical, continuously motivated ‘fly-over’ state!”

The issue is available for purchase at https://www.travelks.com/kansas-magazine/

Within Reason with Mike Matson,

11/18/2025

Member Mike Matson has been hosting a daily radio talk show/recorded podcast on KMAN in Manhattan.

WHAT’S THE SHOW ABOUT?

Digging deeper into Manhattan and regional community conversations, business and societal trends, policy ideas from every level of government, with a particular emphasis on reason and common sense.

We strongly believe the key to today’s societal ills are members of society who think longer, deeper, and more critically. Journalism is the one constant to allow that, and it’s our belief this new talk show can help work toward that goal in our community.

Community service in a way that says it out loud without being self-serving. This talk show is deeper than “news,” It is an interview and discussion vehicle designed specifically to arm listeners with truth and broaden their horizons on subject matter important to their family, to Manhattan, the region, and Kansas.

It’s not gotcha or confrontational, it’s the gaining of new knowledge and motivation. It’s “help us understand.” It’s the middle of the broad thought road, where the overwhelming majority of people in this community live – politically and emotionally. It’s logic and common sense. The show is not over-reaction or under-reaction. It’s reaction.

Guests will come from the public and private sector, non-profits, government at every level (elected and appointed), individuals involved with community growth, expectations of public schools, community quality of life.

The show is rational, authentic, and genuine. It’s not bombast, but there is just enough show biz and pizzazz to make it appealing, set it apart and gain a following.

Broadcast live on NewsRadio KMAN (1350 AM, 93.3 and 93.7 FM), livestreamed on YouTube and recorded and made available as a podcast on the KMAN website and anywhere podcasts are available.

Digging deeper into community conversations
YOUR HOST. Mike Matson, Manhattan Mercury columnist, award winning author and journalist.

A lifelong Kansan, Mike was born in Manhattan, and his career spans radio and TV news, political tactician and press secretary for a Governor, leadership development, system and issue advocacy.

Mike is a seasoned broadcaster, columnist, author and manager, well-known in the Manhattan community and across Kansas. He brings thirty years management and creative experience in public and private sector statewide systems.

Member Published in Vox Populi

11/17/2025

Robert Stewart's personal essay, "The Hole" has been published on Nov. 17, 2025, in the journal Vox Populi. The essay relates his experiences and observations on being a ditch digger.

Read "The Hole" at Vox Populi

Member Published in Journal of L.M. Montgomery Studies Special Collection

11/3/2025

Julie A. Sellers has published a collection of six poems in the Journal of L.M. Montgomery Studies in its special collection, "L.M. Montgomery and the Politics of Home."

Read Julie's Poems

Help us celebrate the writing and publishing accomplishments of Kansas Authors!
If you have news of writing events that would be of interest to all Kansas Authors Club members, or if you are a member (dues current) who would like to announce an achievement, please submit your news via this form.

Writing News from Member Mark Scheel

11/3/2025

Congratulations to Member
Mark Scheel!

It's with immense gratitude that I'm once again announcing a literary trifecta of my writing having been accepted. My essay "Fitting Pipe with a College Degree" will appear in the forthcoming issue of 105 Meadowlark Reader. https://www.105meadowlarkreader.com/

My memoir excerpt "The Doorway to Death and Survival" was included in the latest issue of The Writer's Journal Vol. 2.
https://writers-journal.com/

My poem "The Invincibility of the Moment" was published in the new issue of The Soliloquist Journal.
https://thesoliloquistmagazine.my.canva.site/#about
A sincere thanks to all the editors and publishers for selecting my work!

Mark Scheel

Writing News from Member Duane L. Herrmann

6/30/2025

Member Duane L. Herrmann from Topeka shares some of his publication successes for the month of June.

Let's hear from some more members! Send us your success stories. Submit them here.

105 Meadowlark Reader, #9 - Was it Luck?

Listen and Be Heard – three poems: Not As White, Ashes and Bones, & Two Sides of Me

Text to Power Telling - That Night

Harnisch Acre - two poems: Those Who, & Necessary Darkness

Heron Clan XII - Arsenic is Free, p.66

Congratulations are in Order for Member Sheree L. Wingo

6/13/2025

Sheree L. Wingo is now the assistant editor/staff writer/office manager of the St. Francis Herald/Bird City Times newspaper in Cheyenne County. She writes and photographs most of the newspaper.

Sheree says, "This a dream come true job!!"

CONGRATULATIONS, Sheree!

from your friends and fellow writers at
Kansas Authors Club.

Member Iris Craver Published in Poems for Peace Anthology

6/4/2025

One of Iris Craver's poems, "The Kitchen Table", was recently selected for publication in the first Poets for Peace anthology, which includes peace poems from over 170 poets who have contributed to this endeavor to celebrate peace and a better world for all people. This book represents a positive step toward fulfilling our universal need for a world where loving kindness and respect replace violence and aggression. Poets know that words have power, and poetry is a sturdy vehicle to influence how people think about the world and the future of this planet that is our home. Poets for Peace was created in June 2024 following a presentation by Ihor Pavlyuk, the People's Poet of Ukraine, at the National Federation of State Poetry Societies (NFSPS) Annual Convention in Atlanta, Georgia. Pavlyuk is a highly respected poet and was nominated this year for the Nobel Prize in Literature. As an orphan himself, he is highly motivated to help orphans, and he inspired the audience to aid his efforts. After the convention, Poets for Peace was created as a vehicle to help gather resources to help foster peace and provide some assistance to Ukraine's orphans. All proceeds from the creation and sales of this book will go directly to help the ever-growing number of orphans in Ukraine.

You can order a copy at
https://www.amazon.com/Poets-Peace-Sunflowers-Rising-Anthology/dp/B0F99G1VH7

Member Writing News from Paula Nixon

5/30/2025

Paula's essay "Alaskan Migrations" won first place in the nonfiction category of SouthWest Writers 2024 annual contest and was published in the anthology Mosaic Voices.

"Alaskan Migrations" also won first place in its category at the New Mexico Press Women's annual writing contest.

Member News from Annette Billings

5/7/2025

Member Annette Billings presented Mother Song: A Poem Play by Daughters, with Dr. Jennifer J. Gordon, at Lowman United Methodist Church in Topeka on May 4th.

The pair read poems about mothers experiencing grief and ways to overcome it. View the story as covered by WIBW, Channel 13, Topeka.

Congratulations to the Kansas Authors Club Members Published in the Ninth Issue of 105 Meadowlark Reader

4/21/2025

Issue #9, the Luck issue, of 105 Meadowlark Reader has stories taking place in 31 Kansas counties and features 30 authors.

Eleven stories in this issue are by authors new to 105.

This issue will be available for purchase in Kansas independent boosktores and via the Meadowlark website in May 2025.

Kansas Authors Club members with essays in the Spring 2025 issue are:

Boyd Bauman
Brian Daldorph
Beth Gulley
Roger Heineken
Jerilynn Jones Henrikson
Duane L. Herrmann
Vicki L. Julian
Amy Kliewer
Kerry Moyer
Robert W. Phillips
Robert Rebein
Cynthia C. Schaker
Mason Taylor-Taite
Alicia Troike
Brenda L. White
Sheree L. Wingo

About 105 Meadowlark Reader

Meadowlark Reader Submission Calendar

Open Reading Period for Issue #10
May 1 - June 30, 2025
Theme: Work

Read the Guidelines Before Submitting

<<Previous

Members published in Amaranth: A Journal of Food Writing, Art & Design

Member Kevin Peterson at Red Fern Booksellers in Salina

Member News from Marie Asner

Member News from Annette Billings

Member Julie Stielstra published in Split Rock Review

Tiny Seed Literary Journal

Member Robert W. Phillips Shares His Author Newsletter

Member Kim Andrews Published in Ceramics Monthly

Member to Be Guest Editor for #PoemADay in 2026

Cheryl Seely Savage Poem in Kansas! Magazine 80th Anniversary Year Issue

Within Reason with Mike Matson,

Member Published in Vox Populi

Member Published in Journal of L.M. Montgomery Studies Special Collection

Writing News from Member Mark Scheel

Writing News from Member Duane L. Herrmann

Congratulations are in Order for Member Sheree L. Wingo

CONGRATULATIONS, Sheree!

Member Iris Craver Published in Poems for Peace Anthology

Member Writing News from Paula Nixon

Member News from Annette Billings

Congratulations to the Kansas Authors Club Members Published in the Ninth Issue of 105 Meadowlark Reader

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